Top 10 Free iOS Apps for filmmaking and post production

Posted by Iain Anderson on Jun 23, 2016

Whether you’re on set and only have your phone, or you’re at your desk with your Mac and your iPad, there are many great iOS apps to help with filmmaking. Here are ten great ways to make a shoot run smoothly, to let you capture video in a new way, or help you out in the edit.

Even though the built-in Camera app is very good at stabilization these days, if you’re moving around, a little extra help is welcome. If you don’t have a gimbal, grab Hyperlapse, and enjoy the super-smooth video it produces. By default, it speeds your video up, but you can return it to 1x speed if you just want some stability.

This iPad app (and its Mac companion app) let you remote control FCP X from your iPad. You’ll have to jump through a few minor hoops to get going, but then you’ll have a screen full of custom buttons and a shuttle controller. Handy stuff.

Just like on the Mac, sometimes you’ve got to play back that weird video file. Because you can load videos directly into VLC through wifi or your favorite cloud service, they don’t even need to go through iTunes. Great for reviewing shots when you’re on the go.

If you need to slate your productions, you can’t get much simpler than this. Still, you’ll definitely appreciate the simple swipe-based interface, as you won’t need to use an on-screen keyboard at all. Recommended.

This great app turns your iPad into a teleprompter, and you can even control it remotely from a companion iPhone. It works in normal mode and mirrored mode, so you can use it with mirror-based prompter hardware. A great solution — I’ve used this myself on paying gigs.

Want to write scripts and screenplays in correct format on your iPhone or iPad? This App makes it easy and can also sync with a desktop app. CeltX also makes a lot of other useful App, some of which you can use with a free account and some not. Definitely worth a look.

If you need to record someone quickly and get the file out, this is a terrific solution with a vintage-style interface. While it’s pretty, it’s still very functional, there are many options for recording and exporting.

The built-in Camera app handles time-lapse recording these days, but there’s a distinct lack of controls on offer. If you want more control, this app lets you create time-lapse or manually triggered stop-motion movies with many options. You can export to your camera roll for free, or buy an in-app purchase for more features.